


Forever After A Thousand Years [千年后的恒缘]

by sonnenlicht



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Afterlife, Basically everyone gets a happy ending and it's fluffy yes, Because AO3 gives me trust issues, Buddhism, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, Chinese literature translated into english, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Illustration included, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Reincarnation, The 2nd chapter's just the drawing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:20:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29013447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonnenlicht/pseuds/sonnenlicht
Summary: Humans aren't supposed to be used to the perfect illusion that is forever, but maybe, if you love someone enough, you'll get to spend your forever with them.In which Viktor and Yuuri chose to never let go of one another, even if it meant that they'll have to let go of a thousand years.[Based on a Chinese legend of which you'll be able to be with the person you love for three lifetimes if you're willing to wait for them and remember them for a thousand years.]Updated 15/2/21 : Illustration included.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, implied otayuri - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 77





	1. Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First work I've ever published here, hope you'll like it?
> 
> Basically I told my friend there aren't enough Major Character Deaths and she asked why I like to make people suffer so I wrote this to prove her wrong.
> 
> (Said friend forgot who Makkachin was and I was enraged she thought Makka was a tissue box I cannot-)
> 
> Notes are at the end of the story!

“ 临别殷勤重寄词，词中有誓两心知。  
七月七日*长生殿，夜半无人私语时。  
在天愿作比翼鸟*，在地愿为连理枝。  
天长地久有时尽，此愛*绵绵无绝期。”  
-长恨歌，白居易，唐代

"I have a prose for my love before I go,  
In those words a world only the two of us know.  
And so we shall meet in the Palace of Longevity by the Seventh Day of the Seventh Month,  
And whisper sweet nothings while no one's near.

I wish to be half of a lovebird in the sky,  
And on the grounds, branches intertwined.  
For though there will always be a limit to this forever,  
My love* will have no ends."

-Bai Ju Yi, Tang Dynasty.

•

It was quiet, peacefully so, and in the Katsuki-Nikiforov household, two candles danced, one more fervently than the other - a barely flickering thing.

They say that it is best if one dies peacefully. Painlessly, surrounded by those who loves them, who'll carry them in their hearts even after their soul has left their vessel, even when they've been born anew.

Most people know too, however, that a death as peaceful as that is rather uncommon. For this realm, though offers pleasures, offers suffering as well.

The flickering fire however, he got his dime-a-dozen wish. He laid in bed, absolutely rid of pain as his husband of what must be more than five decades held onto his hand a bit too tightly. _He'd been staying by his side since he came back_ , Viktor thought, _and here I am, unable to wait for him as well._

Oh, how I wish I can wait. Have more time to wait. Given more time to love him.

"Tell me if you're in pain, okay? I'm here for you, Vitya. Please."

Viktor smiled, though he couldn't pull off a perfect heart shape anymore, he gave his best shot.

"My love, have I told you how much I love you?"

The man blinked silent tears away, he chuckled breathlessly.

"Viktor,"

"Yuuri."

"I love you, Yuuri," He whispered, "And I'll love you for a very long time."

They had a lifetime together. They called everything on the ice 'love', they called their apartment in St. Petersburg the same, so did the house in Hasetsu, small but cozy and never without warmth. There hasn't been a single moment when love is absent. It dawned onto both of them at some point that nothing's infinite, but that only made them hold each other closer.

And of course he'd rather live another ten years more, but he knew he couldn't ask for something as impossible as that, given both his age and his prognosis. So they accepted it somewhere along the line, and lived the best they could.

And so, he laced their fingers together. He told him everything he'd always said, only more as if to replace the times he will not be able to. He locked his gaze into him and him only, and the rest of the world fell apart.

"I know, Vitya," And he leaned down for a kiss, a soft one onto his lips.

That very night, a candle danced silently to a song. The fire swished back and forth, as if it's searching for something, another little fire to make a flame perhaps, but it couldn't do much but to dance, alone.

Viktor saw a path the shade of gold, and what must be souls, walking unanimously towards the mist. At the edge of the path was a flower Viktor vaguely remember seeing in Japan. Red spider lilies, if he could remember correctly.

He felt light.

_Oh, my time's passed._

He stepped forward, again and again, and he saw a bridge.

"The Helpless Bridge," He heard someone explaining, "It lets you see how your family's doing for the last time, down The Forgotten River. Take your time."

Viktor's pace quickened, his muscle stiffness and aches all gone. His steps echoed across the cobble bridge. He felt young, alive, and he looked down towards the river -

_Oh._

There he saw his Yuuri, giving the softest, most bittersweet smile he could as he kneeled in front of Viktor's gravestone, his arms holding a bouquet of nineteen white chrysanthemums and two white lilies*, his eyes misted over. No longer brimmed with the sort of light only known for Yuuri.

He spoke to him in broken sobs.

And he rose up, knees leaving the ground, his pained simper still present.

"-Makkachin must be very happy with you. I'll wait for my turn, Vitya. You don't have to worry. I'll be okay. I'll manage."

He turned, not before looking back at the grave once more.

Drops of tears fell onto the surface of the river, disrupting its once serene silence in gentle ripples.

_How can I go on without Yuuri?_

How is it possible to continue along the bridge and end up somewhere else when he can just stand here and know that he's okay? When he can wait, and wait, until one day, he ends up here as well?

Then they can walk together, can they not?

He felt a gentle pat on his shoulder.

As he turned back, he's faced with an old lady, a bowl of soup in her hands. She smiled softly as she said,

"It's time for you to head on to a new life, dear."

"Me? New life?"

She nodded, "Your good deeds and wrongdoings shall determine where you will be. Your soul will lead you to another life, as it's left its previous body. From what I've noticed, you will end up in the manusya realm once more. You have a good soul, my dear. Led a good life."

Manusya, the human realm, is the second best realm of the six realms. It allows its inhabitants to feel the love, joy and pleasure the Godly realm has to offer, added with struggles, suffering and sorrow. A person of good karma shall be given a chance to reincarnate into this realm, hopefully achieving a state of nirvana to be born into the Godly realm.

However, even the Godly realm isn't infinite, as with the Hellish Realm, the Ghost Realm.. Nothing is permanent, as life shall always be - one candle passing fire to the other, led by the melted rows of candles behind it, another unlit candle waiting in its front.

"Will I remember then? My past life?"

"Well dear, do you remember your past lives?"

Viktor grew quiet.

The lady continued, passing him the bowl of soup.

"This soup is made of the tears you've shed from your life. All your joys, pleasures, pain, sorrow, sufferings and love, all of them will be flushed away when you finish the soup. Then, you shall be reincarnated," She explained.

"..Oh."

"Is there anyway I can remember someone?" Viktor asked, "There's a person I won't want to forget."

"When you drink this soup, all memories go. Your last memory shall be your memory with him."

"But can I please not drink this? Is there something else?" Viktor asked, "I cannot imagine not knowing Yuuri. I cannot imagine leaving him alone. I've been with him for fifty-seven years yet I find myself wanting more time. Is there.. a way? Please? Am I asking for too much?"

Leaving behind the world is alright, Viktor's long accepted it. Letting go of the comfort of their bed, laughter under the roof, letting go of their skates, their Olympic medals, that's all alright. Humans aren't supposed to be used to the perfect illusion that is infinity anyways.

But not Yuuri. He will not allow himself to let go of Yuuri if there's even the slightest chance of doing so.

The lady sighed, yet a fond smile grew on her lips, as if she knew.

"Would you like to wait for him?"

Viktor nodded.

"You cannot wait for just a few years, dear. If you choose not to drink this, you'll have to sit by the Forgotten River, protecting him. When he shall die, you won't be able to talk to him until a thousand years' past. For every time he crosses this bridge, every time he drinks his soup, you won't get to do anything but wait."

"And won't he forget me too?"

"If you wait long enough, if your love for him remains strong even after all those years, you'll be reunited with him. By the thousandth year you shall be able to meet him on the bridge, and he shall remember you, and when you write your names together in the Stone of Three Lifetimes, you'll be destined to be each other's in the next lifetime in the human realm."

She looked at Viktor, studying his eyes, wondering if he'll be like most of them, fearing the wait and leaving their love behind.

"I'll do it for him," He said. It didn't take more than two seconds for him to make that decision.

The lady gave him a firm pat on his shoulder,

"Alright then," He bowed slightly, wondering if he's supposed to. "Thank you, Lady - ?"

"Meng. Meng Po."

•

It was two winters after when Yuuri passed. Surrounded by friends as his eyes fluttered shut, the very last image being the lowly bright lights of the hospital room, a new bouquet of flowers, and the remaining skating friends and Mari telling him to rest well. Viktor's waiting, and Yuuri chose to believe it. And so the passing was not as difficult as he'd thought when he was still young and bright, so stubbornly wanting to leave behind a legacy he didn't know if he could achieve.

The funeral was private and more peaceful than it was sorrowful. People reunited with friends they hadn't met for years, friends embraced and ignored the many wrinkles grown on each other's faces, and then he was buried by Viktor's side, in a quiet cemetery in Hasetsu overlooking the sea. Bodies returned to Earth, souls rejoining another beginning, each remaining last wishes fulfilled.

Hours before the sealing of the casket, Viktor watched with a bittersweet smile as Yurio, with hair white than Viktor's silver, placed his husband's blue-framed glasses by his side.

•

When he saw Yuuri on the bridge, it's been three days since he's pronounced as clinically dead.

He walked with small steps, and _oh, he looked so young:_ His soft black locks and chocolate brown eyes, focusing on the world around him, and -

He stopped by the bridge, and looked down.

"Yuuri!" Viktor called. His heart soared, yet he knew deep down -

Yuuri wouldn't answer. He couldn't. Viktor's an invisible entity to him, but still those eyes focused on the serene river, tracing it until it reached the misted horizon.

He didn't know what Yuuri saw, but he was smiling, hand reaching for his ring finger where his ring was.

_I'm waiting, Yuuri._

Viktor watched as Lady Meng walked up towards Yuuri. Whereas some other souls were brought down to the other lower realms, she instead gave Yuuri the same fond smile, warm and comforting, which gave Viktor a sigh of relief.

"H-hello, nice to meet you?" Yuuri said, "Can you tell me-"

"You'll be in the Godly Realm, dear," She said, "You led a life of love and giving. You led a life of peace, acceptance. For that, you deserve to go to the highest realm. One without pain and suffering, only joy and peace, and you shall stay until the next lifetime."

"What?" Yuuri gasped softly, "Oh, no, I can't possibly -"

The lady offered him the bowl of soup, Viktor's heart sank.

He may still be the same soul, but Yuuri won't be Yuuri anymore. He'll be someone new, someone not-Yuuri, and still, Viktor wanted to keep him safe. Even in the Godly realms did Viktor wished Yuuri would hold onto that part of him.

It'll be impossible, won't it?

Yuuri took the bowl hesitantly.

"This soup is made of the tears you've shed from your life. All your joys, pleasures, pain, sorrow, sufferings and love, all of them will be flushed away when you finish the soup. Then, you shall be reincarnated."

Viktor's heard of her words for most probably hundreds of thousands of times. She'd say this to whoever's deserving of reincarnation, patting their shoulder and offering them the soup. Most would hesitate, but most would drink as well. Rarely did Viktor saw someone refusing, choosing to wait for their certain someone instead.

And now, he looked as a difficult look grew on Yuuri.

"I will forget.. everything? Even those that I love?"

The lady nodded, and offered him a bit of time to think as she returned to her pavilion, waiting for other souls awaiting her bowls of soup.

Yuuri held onto the bowl tighter, his brows furrowing as he said, "Wait, I'm sorry-"

The lady walked slowly towards him.

"There's someone I love. He said he's waiting for me. Where is he? Has he gone to.."

The lady offered him a kind smile once more, "Why, I cannot tell you that. But he's a kind soul."

"Will I meet him again?"

"That, I cannot say," She told him, "But.."

And suddenly, Viktor heard a calm silence.

His Yuuri's gone.

Viktor tried rubbing his eyes, though for the past two years his vision remained perfect. Maybe Yuuri went under her pavillion, maybe he'd gone into the mists, somewhere. Where is he?

_Did he leave me?_

_Is he going to drink the soup?_

And for once, he felt teary eyed, his heart soured for the very first time since he'd arrived and waiting for his thousand years to pass.

Fifty seven years of knowing this brilliant, perfect man. This beautiful person that's so unsure of himself, this spectacular dancer, whose steps were so light it resembled the strings of a harp.. even if Yuuri's soul will still remain, the observed outcomes that made him this particular Yuuri, the memories that'd given him his character, it'll all disappear.

Now the man's gone. Now, only Viktor would remember everything that made Yuuri, Yuuri.

_Will he remember me in a thousand years' time?_

The katsudons, the poodles, the midnight movies and cheat days and panic attacks and ice rinks and slow dancing under the stars and the downpour of roses red and blue as they leave their final, temporary scars across the ice, and give their very last bow to a thunderous arena of audience. It's easy, making those memories, it was all they could do.

Droplets of tears rippled the once serene waters, and they danced in circles, one bigger than the last.

But that's for the best, Viktor thought. He'd rather Yuuri be able to live a life with only happiness and love, than to let him wait for Viktor for a thousand years too.

And so Viktor waited, not knowing that somewhere down The Helpless River, the water danced as well.

•

There was a certain calm to it, just looking down into the humanly realm. Though he wouldn't know much, as he'd only ever looked at Hasetsu, St. Petersburg, and a few places of sentimental value.

All the rinks he used to call his home have been torn apart but one. Ice Castle remained miraculously, on the foot of the hill of a sleepy seaside town. Though abandoned, there were never plans to demolish it. The town's population thinned out until there were only a few hundred people, and yet the rink was a reminder of what was once the rink of a lengendary figure skater.

In fact, his childhood skates were still hung against the hallway. His first Team Japan shirt, the first Hot Springs on Ice.

Call him foolish, but it's with these memories that he'll keep waiting.

However, as he waited for his soul to walk onto the bridge once more, he never came.

•

It just happened one day, when the mists that'd enveloped the horizon cleared for him.

A thousand years' passed, and the Meng Lady watched as Viktor blinked once, twice, and have the heavy realisation dawn onto him and that he'll see his Yuuri again. She smiled once more.

"You've carried the memories of him with you, and so you've proven your love, and shall deserve to be his fated one in your next lives," she looked up, further along the river, "And it seems, so does he."

_So does he?_

"..Viktor?"

No. It can't be-

He turned around to see..

_Oh._

"VIKTOR!" Yuuri called loudly, "You-"

With fervent steps he ran to the still frozen-in-shock Viktor, though in his aquatic eyes he saw a glimmer - the same sort of radiance he'd remember seeing so many years ago, when he was drunk off of his arse in a certain banquet.

And he gave his big heart-shaped smile, "YUURI!"

When he felt his body clashing against his, it was expected but so sudden, familiar but new. It was such a hard fall Viktor had to take a few steps back, Yuuri making an "Oomf!" Sound as his head leaned onto Viktor's shoulder, steady and so, so happy.

"You waited, My Yuuri.." Viktor sobbed, "You'll never fail to surprise me, my love," He held onto his husband tighter, until he felt his heartbeat against his, "How happy I am to see you again."

"Of course I'll wait. I promised, Vitya," He cried, "God I was so scared - I thought you'd drank the soup and left and I won't find you ever again."

"I'm here now, aren't I?" He kissed his cheek lovingly, "I'm not going anywhere without you."

Their fingers intertwined, and Viktor brough Yuuri's hand to his lips, kissing his knuckles and watching as his lover's face flushes a light shade of red, just like it always does.

"Are you ready to go with me, Yuuri? Back to being humans, meet each other all over again, fall in love just the same? Spend the rest of lifetime together?"

Yuuri chuckled breathlessly, still very much overwhelmed,

"Maybe not fall in love when we're both drunk and I'm on a stripping pole, but yes, Vitya. A thousand times yes."

"Maybe I'd want that again," Viktor turned towards the old lady, his grip on Yuuri's hand tightening a little, "We're ready."

"Follow me," She said. And they were led away from the river, back onto the higher surface, to a crimson that's situated right opposite of her lovely pavilion.

"After carving your names down the Stone of Three Lives together, you'll destine to be a fated pair in your past, present and future livetimes. Then, you'll walk forward, and welcome the new lives ahead of you," She said, "I wish you happiness."

They gave their short thank yous before the lady returned to her pavilion. Engraving their names onto the stone was a simple enough task, and so they did it silently, knowing well enough that they'll always have one another. They relished the new life blooming in their souls, a feeling they hadn't felt since they've first fallen in love. A hope so strong you can't help but to walk forward.

"I'll see you again, Yuuri."

His husband smiled, "Have I told you how much I love you, Vitya?"

"Yuuuuuurii!" He laughed airily, "You don't have to tell me for me to feel it. You've given me so much love - you've made my life."

"Well, there's no such thing as 'too much'," His gaze met his husband's, and at the very end of the soft golden road, the feeling of completeness finally settled in.

" _Koishiteruyo_ , Vitya."

Viktor had a sweet smile on his face.

"And I'll love you a little bit more than that."

I have him now. Everything else will be alright. Forgetting this, forgetting ourselves, it'll be okay.

Because with him, he called, and will call everything in life 'Love'.

•

It's the year 3074. Two candles are lit with a glowing fire, and though they're like any other candles, their flames choose to dance with one another. And through it, a larger flame has been ignited.

A young teenage boy is retying the ribbons of his pointe shoes when he looks up to see his classmate. With flushed cheeks, soft black hair and a beautiful blue rose in his hand, he stammers,

"B-be my partner for the pas de deux!"

The silver-haired boy smiles widely,

"This looks more like a confession, doesn't it?"

[END]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be a long one.
> 
> 比翼鸟 [bîyìniâo] (Pihis): A legendary bird in Chinese mythology that has only an eye and one wing. It cannot fly on its own, and so it takes two birds to fly together. It is used in literarature to symbolise a devoted or a fated pair.
> 
> 七月七日 (Seventh month, seventh day): On this day of the Chinese calendar, couples will celebrate it like it's Valentine's day. It has a backstory as well, of the once-a-year reunion between the weaver girl and the cowherd .3.
> 
> 此愛*绵绵无绝期  
> (My love* will have no ends,)  
> : The original literature used 恨 [hèn] (hatred) instead of 爱 [ài] (love), but I changed it so that it fits. This piece of literarature is actually named "The Song of Long Hatred (长恨歌)," a piece written from the perspective of a beautiful imperial concubine in China, who was so beautiful she was executed, as the King was so distracted from her beauty, he neglected to lead his men to the war. (This is actually based on a true story.) 
> 
> Nineteen white chrysanthemums and two white lilies: A Chinese bouquet that means, (Directly translated from the idiom I now cannot remember,) 'to stand up from your knees again.' Asians especially of the Buddhist faith tend to kneel on both knees sometimes when we're in front of a deceased's grave, and so this bouquet symbolises a deep longing for someone you love and respect, as even when you rise again, you'll still carry a certain longing for them.
> 
> Koishiteru: I'm in love with you. 
> 
> I know you don't usually pick your partner in a pas de deux but let's just.. let's just leave it there yeah? :)
> 
> \+ I did the illustration so there is no need to credit anyone. Do not repost without asking me.
> 
> Hope you've enjoyed the one-shot. Leave a kudos or your comment, maybe? :D Either ways, stay safe and have a brilliant day! (And a Happy Thaipusam in advance to those who celebrate it.)


	2. Illustration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've tried to upload the drawing for a whole hour and AO3 just didn't work well so just in case it didn't work in the first chapter, there you go!
> 
> (Also sorry if you've already read this haha just ignore this chapter entirely ja?)


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